From the earliest days, man has dreamt of flying. From drawings on stone pyramids and Icarus' demise in Greek mythology to Leonardo da Vinci's prescient drawings of flying machines, we have been preoccupied by flight.

Then at the dawn of the 20th century, man's dream became reality. Brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright finally got off the ground in machines that were heavier than air.

Their first flight in 1903 (left) covered just a few feet and lasted only a few seconds. Little could they have known how significantly their invention was to change the world.